Written Answers Monday 31 July 2000 Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7059 by Sarah Boyack on 19 June 2000, whether Glasgow Prestwick International Airport is excluded from the Public Service Obligations and, if so, why.

Sarah Boyack: Glasgow Prestwick International Airport is not excluded from the Public Service Obligation (PSO) procedures for the tendering process for lifeline air services. A member state can impose a PSO on any route which meets the stated criteria set out in EC Regulation 2408/92.

British-Irish Council

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next attend a meeting of the British-Irish Council, what issues will be discussed and whether it will report to the Parliament after the meeting.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following the restoration of devolution to Northern Ireland on 22 May, member administrations of the British-Irish Council are currently engaged in making arrangements for the next council plenary session. That meeting will take place in Dublin later this year on a date yet to be confirmed. We will report back to the Parliament after that meeting.

Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, time to pay directions will apply only to actions commenced on or after 10 July 2000.

Mr Jim Wallace: Time to pay directions were introduced by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 which came into force on 30 November 1988. The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000 raise the limit for which it is competent for courts to grant a time to pay direction from £10,000 to £25,000 with effect from 10 July 2000. This amendment will apply only to decrees granted on or after 10 July 2000 where applications for time to pay directions are made.

Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, time to pay orders will apply only to decrees granted on or after 10 July 2000.

Mr Jim Wallace: Time to pay orders were introduced by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 which came into force on 30 November 1988. Applications for time to pay orders can only be granted by the court after a decree for payment has been made and diligence against the debtor has commenced. The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000 raise the limit for which it is competent for courts to grant a time to pay order from £10,000 to £25,000 with effect from 10 July 2000. This amendment will apply to applications for time to pay orders made after 10 July 2000.

Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, articles exempt from poinding will be exempt only in poindings executed on or after 10 July 2000.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, which came into force on 30 November 1988, provided an extended list of goods, particularly household goods, which may be exempt from poinding if reasonably required for the use of the debtor or his household. The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000 further extended that list to include televisions, radios, microwave ovens, telephones and computers. The regulations came into force on 10 July 2000 and apply to poindings executed from that date.

Foster Care

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any responses received to its request in paragraph 5.27 of Aiming for Excellence for views "on the case for allowing local authorities to enter into arrangements with private fostering agencies, and whether such agencies should be subject to inspection and registration by the new body", and whether it will respond to any views received.

Iain Gray: Responses to the White Paper, Aiming for Excellence, are available in the Scottish Executive library and SPICe. Responses received on this issue were taken into account in developing the policy set out in the position paper The Way Forward for Care ,   published on 5 July 2000. This states that the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care will regulate private fostering agencies in the same way it will regulate services provided by local authorities and voluntary agencies.

Health

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on mobile cardiac laboratories as a means of reducing waiting lists and times for coronary heart disease diagnosis.

Susan Deacon: The Coronary Heart Disease Task Force will be addressing this issue as part of its report, which is expected in the autumn.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) or Her Majesty’s Government’s Ministers about the stock disposal of MoD Housing being carried out by the MoD Housing Executive in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive has had direct discussions with Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar and the Defence Housing Executive concerning the disposal of MoD properties in Benbecula. In addition, Scottish Homes has been involved in discussions about surplus MoD housing in Helensburgh and in Unst, Shetland.

Justice

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks there were against unarmed individuals in public places in Glasgow in each year from 1995 to 1999 and how many (a) deaths and (b) convictions resulted from such attacks in each year.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is not possible from the information held centrally to separately identify crimes of violence where the victim was unarmed or, with the exception of homicides, those crimes which took place in public places. The number of homicides which took place outwith dwellings is given below.

  Homicide cases outwith dwellings, Glasgow City1

  


 


1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  



Number of victims 
  

31 
  

14 
  

11 
  

14 
  

n/a 
  



Number of accused persons with a charge proved 
  

23 
  

12 
  

8 
  

11 
  

n/a 
  



  n/a: not available.

  Notes:

  1. Figures for 1995 and 1996 will not be exactly comparable with those for later years because of local government reorganisation in April 1996.

Justice

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks involving weapons there were against unarmed individuals in public places in Glasgow in each year from 1995 to 1999; how many deaths and how many (a) deaths and (b) convictions resulted from such attacks in each year.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information at the level of detail requested is not available except for homicides. It is not possible from the information held centrally to separately identify cases where the victim was unarmed.

  Homicide cases outwith dwellings involving shootings or the use of a sharp or blunt instrument, Glasgow City1

  


 


1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  



Number of victims 
  

23 
  

12 
  

9 
  

10 
  

n/a 
  



Number of accused persons with a charge proved 
  

19 
  

9 
  

7 
  

8 
  

n/a 
  



  n/a: not available.

  Notes:

  1. Figures for 1995 and 1996 will not be exactly comparable with those for later years because of local government reorganisation in April 1996.

Justice

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks involving firearms there were against unarmed individuals in public places in Glasgow each year from 1995 to 1999 and how many (a) deaths and (b) convictions resulted from such attacks in each year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information is given in the table below. It is not possible from the information held centrally to separately identify crimes of violence where the victim was unarmed or the outcome of proceedings other than in cases of homicide.

  Crimes of violence1, 2, Glasgow City3

  

 

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  



Crimes recorded by the police involving alleged use of a firearm 
  

184 
  

169 
  

107 
  

90 
  

n/a 
  



Homicides involving shootings: 
  



Number of victims 
  

4 
  

2 
  

1 
  

3 
  

n/a 
  



Number of accused persons with a charge proved. 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

n/a 
  



  n/a: not available.

  Notes:

  1. Homicide, attempted murder, robbery, serious assault and simple assault.

  2. Excludes cases which occurred in dwellings.

  3. Recorded crime and homicide figures for 1995 and 1996 will not be exactly comparable with those for later years because of local government reorganisation in April 1996.

Justice

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to deal with crimes against the elderly.

Angus MacKay: Crime and the fear of crime reduce the quality of life for many older people although they are less likely to be victims. We have established partnerships led by local authorities and the police to tackle crime and community safety at local level and we encourage older people and their representatives to be part of that process.

  In May, the Deputy First Minister announced that he was providing Scotland’s police forces with an extra £8.9 million to enable them to recruit more than 300 extra police officers. This and our ongoing commitment to the funding of CCTV and other community safety projects will contribute significantly to making our communities safer for everyone including older people.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists from other countries are prosecuted each year for carrying large amounts of spare fuel in unsafe containers; who is responsible for carrying out checks to detect and deter this practice, and, if police forces or local authorities are responsible, how many such checks are carried out each year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally. While the police may become involved, it is primarily the duty of Customs & Excise, the Health & Safety Executive and local authority trading standards officers to enforce, within their respective jurisdictions, the law relating to petroleum and the importation and carriage of dangerous substances.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fiscal fines issued in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, and (c) 1999-2000 were fully paid.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information is given in the table. Data for 1999-2000 are not yet available.

  Number of fiscal fines fully paid into the district court in 1997-98 and 1998-991

  


1997-982


1998-993




12,653 
  

14,768 
  



  Notes:

  1. Data are not available centrally on fines fully paid by year of issue.

  2. Data are not available for East Renfrewshire, Eilean Siar, Fife (part), Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.

  3. Data are not available for Eilean Siar, Fife (part), Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was raised from fiscal fines issued in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information is given in the table. Data for 1999-2000 are not yet available.

  Value of fiscal fines received by district courts in 1997-98 and 1998-991 (£000)

  


1997-982


1998-993




525.1 
  

639.6 
  



  Notes:

  1. Data are not available centrally on value of fines received by year of issue.

  2. Data are not available for East Renfrewshire, Fife (part), Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire (part) and West Dunbartonshire.

  3. Data are not available for Eilean Siar, Fife (part), Midlothian, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to increase the number of fiscal fines which are fully paid.

Mr Jim Wallace: District courts are responsible for collecting and enforcing fixed penalties, including fiscal fines. To enforce these fines, the court may use all the methods of enforcement available for court imposed fines, except imprisonment. In practice, this means that the court can allow the defaulter to pay by instalments, deduct from income support, seek to recover the amount by civil diligence or remit the fine.

Local Government

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it uses in determining whether to approve or refuse requests from local authorities to dispose of land or property at less than full market value.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Section 74(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 ensures that council tax payers obtain value for their assets, affords a measure of protection to the authority against charges of discrimination between purchasers and precludes the award of hidden subsidies. Our usual policy has been to grant applications for dispensation under section 74(2) if the intending buyer or lessee is performing some kind of charitable or public service function and where it could reasonably be argued that the buyer could not afford the full market price. The criteria we usually consider for each case is:

  Summary of the proposal

  To whom the land/asset is to be leased/disposed

  Details of this organisation:

  - Aims and objectives

  - Board of Members

  - Involvement of local people/service users

  - Whether the organisation is funded by the council (if so, details)

  - Is it a charitable organisation (if so, Inland Revenue details)

  - Previous year’s accounts (if available)

  What the organisation intend to do with the land/asset

  Market Value of land/asset/lease

  Size of land to be disposed/leased

  Plan with area of land marked

  Length of lease and details of any conditions

  Justification of the proposal – how does it provide public benefit?

  Details of the current use of the asset/land

  Clarification of whether there is any alternative use for the land/asset

  Whether there is any community opposition or support for proposal

  If there is opposition what is the council’s view on this

  Where the disposal is to a local authority trust or company, the criteria we consider are:

  Capital value of assets to be transferred

  How the Trust/Company is configured – does it comply with the CoSLA and Accounts Commission Guidance, Following the Public Pound?

  Contractual basis between the council and the Trust/Company (especially where the Trust/Company is delivering council services/functions), particularly performance monitoring arrangements

  Benefits of Trust/Company arrangement

  If the Trust is to deliver a council service/function, how will the provision of the service, in terms of cost and quality, be improved

  Funding/Subsidy arrangements – is it intended to provide a deficit grant; if so, how much is the grant and what is the estimated annual expenditure of the Trust/Company?

  Section 94 implications of Trust – will the Trust borrow capital themselves or will the council act as guarantor and how will any major capital investment be funded?

  Where is the existing debt for Trust held?

  Details of Trustees

  Involvement of public/service users in the Trust/Company and the development of the proposal

  Similar criteria are used for disposal of Housing Revenue Account housing/land at less than best price. Such disposals are, in the main, for the provision of housing for affordable rent by registered social landlords or for low cost home ownership.

  This criteria is not set in stone and the main point considered is whether the public benefit being gained from the disposal outweighs the loss of a public asset.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much income was received by each local authority in each of the last five years in cash and real terms, broken down by category or source of income.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information requested is given in the table "Income Received By Local Authorities By Category Of Source - 1996-97 to 2000-01", a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 7153).

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that working groups on advocacy for mental health users are independent and that service users are fully represented on and acknowledged by such groups.

Iain Gray: The Executive is taking active steps to ensure that advocacy services are independent and that users and carers are involved in all aspects of these services.

  The good practice guide on advocacy, Advocacy: A Guide to Good Practice, which was published in 1997 at the same time as the Mental Health Framework, makes it clear that all advocacy services commissioned by health service bodies and their planning partners, should be independent.

  Earlier this year when addressing Advocacy 2000’s conference, I announced that we would shortly be issuing further guidance to service commissioners aimed at ensuring that independent advocacy services are available to mental health users as well as everyone else who needs such support.

  Both of these guides also encourage the full participation of service users and carers in every stage of the development and management of advocacy services.

Mike Tyson

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its departments have received complimentary tickets, either directly or through any third party, to the Mike Tyson fight on 24 June 2000, and whether any of these invitations have been accepted.

Mr Sam Galbraith: If officials are offered a gift in an official capacity, the Scottish Executive rules require that approval must be obtained before it can be accepted, and no such approvals were sought or granted.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the central and local government expenditure on the Fife/Edinburgh Park and Ride bus scheme in terms of each contributing body and the categories of expenditure.

Sarah Boyack: The details in relation to Fife Council’s A90 Ferrytoll Park and Ride scheme and the City of Edinburgh Council’s A90 bus priority measures are:

  Fife Council’s A90 Ferrytoll Park and Ride Bus Scheme

  The Scottish Office awarded the council £2.7 million from the 1998-99 Transport Challenge Fund to assist with this project, which is expected to commence in early December 2000. The council is contributing £1.186 million to the total cost of £4.3 million with other funding being provided by the European Regional Development Fund, Scottish Enterprise and the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board.

  City of Edinburgh Council‘s A90 (Echline to Barnton) Phase 1 Bus Priority Measures

  The Scottish Office awarded the council £1.2 million from the 1998-99 Transport Challenge Fund to assist with this project, which is expected to be completed in July 2000. The council is contributing £0.5 million to the total cost of £1.7 million.

  City of Edinburgh Council’s A90 (Queensferry Road) Phase 2 Bus Priority Measures

  The Scottish Executive awarded the council £0.8 million from the 2000-01 Public Transport Fund to assist with a package of measures to improve bus journey times westbound on the A90 (Queensferry Road) between Blackhall and Barnton.

  The Scottish Executive does not hold information about the categories of expenditure on these local authority projects.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its powers and remit in relation to rail safety, what lines of communication it has with any relevant bodies and what its powers are in relation to the appointment and supervision of those bodies.

Sarah Boyack: Under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, the provision and regulation of railway services, which includes railway safety, is a reserved matter. This reservation applies to appointments to and supervision of relevant bodies.

  The Scottish Executive of course attaches importance to transport safety, and is therefore in regular contact with the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions, the Health and Safety Executive, Her Majesty’s Railways Inspectorate, the Rail Regulator, the British Transport Police and the railway industry on matters relating to rail safety in Scotland.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any representations made regarding light rail and the ability of light rail vehicles to travel on heavy gauge rail.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has not received any representations regarding light rail and the ability of light rail vehicles to travel on heavy gauge rail.

Residential Care

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of its press release Children in Residential Accommodation 1998-99 of 5 July 2000, what steps it intends to take to reduce the number of children admitted into residential accommodation.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The number of children in residential accommodation is almost 25% less than it was a decade ago. At the same time, provision of holiday or respite care has increased. Both trends are welcome.

  We are keen to ensure there is a community placement for every child who might benefit from one. Through the Children’s Services Development Fund, we have increased funding for community placements from £2.2 million in 1999-2000 to £4.7 million for the current year. We are also working with local authorities and the voluntary sector to increase recruitment of foster carers and will be commissioning research into local authority adoption practices.

Roads

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to retain the A7 as a trunk road.

Sarah Boyack: I refer Dr Murray to the answer given to question S1W-6662.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7214 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 June 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown of the current spend estimates on (a) the Annual Expenditure Report and (b) Local Government – Political Restrictions Exemptions Adjudicator from the estimates on commissions and committees in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02, as contained in table 2.9 of the Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2000 .

Ms Wendy Alexander: Table 2.9 of the Annual Expenditure Report contains current spend estimates for Housing, Publicity and Policy Evaluation plus Committees and Commissions. A breakdown of the last two was covered in the answers to questions S1W-7213 and S1W-7214 respectively. A breakdown of the Housing element is set out below:

  


 


2000-01
  £ million 


2001-02
  £ million 




Annual Expenditure Report 
  

6.500 
  

6.500 
  



Travelling People 
  

1.000 
  

1.000 
  



Grants to Voluntary Bodies 
  

2.519 
  

2.519 
  



Housing Publicity 
  

0.150 
  

0.150 
  



Energy Action Scotland 
  

0.094 
  

0.094 
  



Mortgage Repossessions 
  

1.000 
  

1.000 
  



Saltire Society 
  

0.008 
  

0.008 
  



Rent Assessment Panel 
  

0.260 
  

0.260 
  



Valuation Office 
  

2.500 
  

2.500 
  



Miscellaneous 
  

0.001 
  

0.001 
  



Housing Association Repayments 
  

-1.072 
  

-1.072 
  



  A breakdown of the Local Government Political Restrictions Exemptions Adjudicator is set out below:

  

 

2000-01
  £ 


2001-02
  £ 




Local Government – Political Restrictions Exemptions Adjudicator 
  

27,000 
  

27,000 
  



Adjudicator Salary 
  

5,000 
  

5,000 
  



Administrative Costs (Staff, Accommodation and related Administrative 
  Costs) 
  

22,000 
  

22,000

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7213 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 June 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown of the current spend estimates on (a) the Annual Expenditure Report and (b) departmental research from the spend estimates on Publicity and Policy in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02, as contained in table 2.9 of the Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2000 .

Ms Wendy Alexander: Table 2.9 of the Annual Expenditure Report contains current spend estimates for Housing, Publicity and Policy Evaluation plus Committees and Commissions. A breakdown of the estimate for each of these elements was given in the answer to questions S1W-8392, S1W-7213 and S1W-7214. A breakdown of the departmental research element of the Publicity and Policy figure is set out below:

  

 

2000-01
  £ million 


2001-02
  £ million 




Departmental Research 
  

1.200 
  

1.200 
  



Research Studies and Surveys 
  

1.058 
  

1.058 
  



Economic Support Unit Research 
  

0.180 
  

0.180

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all surplus money within the Transport Operatives Pension Scheme (TOPS) will be distributed to existing pensioners and deferred pensioners within TOPS.

Sarah Boyack: On wind-up of the Scottish Transport Group, a Dissolution Order will prescribe to whom the group should pay the surplus funds remaining after tax and having made proper provision for future claims and liabilities. The Scottish Executive will bring forward such an Order for Parliament’s approval in due course.

Telecommunications

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a digital divide exists between urban and rural areas; if so, what initiatives it has launched to close this gap, and whether any such plans include efforts to reduce charges for connection to national networks in rural areas.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has already announced in the Rural Scotland Strategy paper that we are working to ensure that a digital divide should not exist in Scotland. The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the regulation of service charges imposed by telecommunications companies.

Telecommunications

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that increased and high quality access to the Internet in rural areas is not hindered by the demand for such services remaining low because of high costs and the costs of such services remaining high because of low demand.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the regulation of service charges by telecommunications companies. We are in discussions with telecoms companies which are designed to encourage operators to enter rural areas.

Telecommunications

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies to ensure that business Internet users in the Highlands are not at a competitive disadvantage to other users because of any lack of telecommunications infrastructure or poor quality Internet access.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in discussion with telecommunications companies over their roll-out plans for broadband services. We are considering with Highlands and Islands Enterprise what steps need to be taken to ensure business Internet users in the Highlands have access to broadband services.

Telecommunications

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, alone or in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies, to ensure that businesses have the resources and Internet access needed to compete and succeed in the world economy, given that Internet productivity is increasing faster year-on-year in the USA than in the UK.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in contact with telecommunications companies on their plans for the provision of broadband technology. We will assess what steps need to be taken when these discussions are complete.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be a Scottish equivalent of Her Majesty's Government’s 10-year plan for transport, or whether the UK strategy will have a Scottish component; when it expects any such Scottish strategy to be published, and whether the railway aspects of any Scottish strategy, or Scottish component of a UK strategy, will be produced by Scottish Ministers or the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority.

Sarah Boyack: The contents and publication of the UK Government’s 10-year plan are matters for that Government. The plan will not cover devolved transport matters but would apply to Scotland insofar as it relates to reserved matters, including rail. Scottish Ministers have various functions in relation to railways in Scotland; these are exercised within the context of the GB regulatory framework. Before giving directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority on the Scottish rail franchise we will consult on the strategic priorities which will underpin those directions.

  On completion of the review of their spending, Scottish Ministers will announce their proposals for investment, including on transport.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Finance

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the end-year balance for each sub-heading of the Parliament’s budget was in 1999-2000.

Sir David Steel: The information that you have requested is not available at this time. Audit Scotland is currently auditing the accounts of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. It is proposed that Summarised Accounts will be published within the Corporate Body’s Annual Report, which is due for publication in September.

Holyrood Project

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will invite tenders from Scottish companies for the supply of Scottish tree and plant products for the soft landscaping of the Holyrood site of the Parliament.

Sir David Steel: Contracts for the "soft landscaping" at the Holyrood site will be let in accordance with current EC procurement directives which ensure free and open competition in all member states. It is hoped and expected that Scottish companies will participate in this competitive tendering process.